Canadian flags to fly at half-staff for Parizeau

Canadian government flags across Quebec will fly at half-staff to honour former sovereignist Quebec premier Jacques Parizeau, iPolitics has learned.

Officials in the Canadian Heritage department confirmed that Canadian government flags will be ordered to half-staff from now until the day of Parizeau’s funeral.

“As per the Rules for Half-masting the National Flag of Canada (Section 10), flags on all Government of Canada buildings and establishments in the province of Quebec will be flown at half-mast from now until sunset on the date of the funeral (date to be confirmed), to mark the passing of the late Mr. Jacques Parizeau, who passed away on June 1, 2015,” the department said in an e-mailed response.

The move by the Canadian government comes after the Quebec government ordered the flag on the National Assembly to be flown at half-staff to mark Parizeau’s passing.

Premier Philippe Couillard announced that the Quebec government has offered Parizeau’s family a state funeral — which they have accepted — and will rename the Montreal headquarters of Quebec’s Caisse de Dépot et Placement pension fund, which Parizeau helped create, in his honor.

Parizeau’s death Monday at age 84 left few people indifferent.

While Parizeau, a former Quebec finance minister, was one of the architects of many elements of Quebec’s economic transformation during the Quiet Revolution, he will also be remembered as the sovereignist leader who came within one percentage point of winning a 1995 referendum that could have led to Quebec’s separation from the rest of Canada. His speech that night, in which he blamed “money and ethnic votes” for the loss, led to his resignation as premier the following day.

However, under Canadian government flag protocols, the minute a province decides to half-staff a flag, the federal government is supposed to follow suit.

Reaction from many Canadian political leaders Tuesday was varied.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, who went toe to toe with Parizeau many times in Quebec’s National Assembly, described Parizeau as a “statesman.”

“He was a statesman who spent his life working in the best interest of the population,” Mulcair told reporters. “I know very few people who dedicated their lives as much as he did to serve the overall population well.”

Mulcair pointed out that in the first PQ government under former Premier René Lévesque, Parizeau contributed to a number of progressive initiatives including the creation of Quebec’s automobile insurance fund, Quebec’s Caisse de Depot pension fund and Quebec’s anti-scab law which was born out of violent labor conflicts that marked the province’s history.

“He was always a formidable intellect, a person who was profoundly passionate about Quebec,” Trudeau told reporters. “I wasn’t at all in agreement with him in ’95 and at other moments but I always had enormous respect for him.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper tweeted his condolences. “On behalf of all Canadians, Laureen & I extend our deepest condolences to the family & friends of former Premier Jacques Parizeau.”